Golden arch.

The arch is up and the steel work is mostly complete.  It's been a long few months, I'm going on vacation.

Cheers y'all!

The Build

Here is an update about the kiln build, I'm making some good progress, I'm starting the steel work this weekend and would like to get the arch up as well.  Next Tuesday the lady and I are heading to Minnesota on vacation for a week.  I'm going to hit up the St. Croix Pottery Tour for a day, I'm really excited about that.  So I'm trying to cram as much building in as I can before we go.  

I like arches with a steep slope, not quite a barrel arch but pretty close.
Back to the grind.

Cheers!

Coming down and going up!

I'm excited that my kickstarter is finished and I was able to raise what I needed to get this new kiln up and running.  I started taking down the wood kiln a couple weeks ago, trying to sort what was reusable and what wasn't as I took it down.  

Look at those gaps!

Above the grates there was getting gnarly!  I tried to save the bagwall to use as a classy lawn ornament but it was just too heavy to move.

Not much left.

I snapped chalklines for the kiln and laid down a layer of self-leveling compound so that the foundation was perfectly flat and level.

Today I laid up the concrete blocks for the foundation and layer of cement board on top so that I start with a perfectly flat area to lay brick.

Here is the kiln shed, my studio is just to the right.  I'm going to put a metal roof on it once I get the stack through the roof.

Well, that's all for now.  I'm hoping to start laying the floor of the kiln tomorrow, I also need to go track down a brick saw.  I started loosely planning this project almost a year ago so it feels good to see it start coming together.  

Cheers!

Oil Burner Update

The stars finally aligned themselves this week and I was able to fire the university kiln with my waste oil burners.  Things went pretty well, I had a few small issues during the firing that I was able to resolve or at least troubleshoot for the next firing.  I made it to cone 10 in about 11 hours using 27 gallons of waste vegetable oil.  The two biggest issues I had were the burner nozzles clogging and my air compressor not being able to keep up.  The latter was an easy fix, I was able to commandeer the department compressor so I had one on each burner.  I'm going to have to invest in a much larger/higher CFM compressor for my kiln.  That was an unexpected expense but I'm glad I figured it out now so I can budget that in.  I think the clogging was due to the oil not being adequately filtered.  The burners drew from a 5 gallon bucket and I had a 100 mesh sieve that I poured the oil through.  While attempting to remove sediment from the sieve I cracked it and put a couple small holes in it, so I think quite a bit of sediment made it through.  I was able to clear it quickly with a wire brush but it could lose temp pretty quick if the clog happened for too long.  I'm excited to know these things work and have that stress behind me.  It makes it a lot easier to move forward with getting the kiln built. 

In other news, I picked up an electric kiln this week.  I've been looking for a used one for a couple years but I had a pretty long and picky list of what I wanted.  My patience paid off and I was able to pick up a computer controlled Skutt 1227 for an extremely small amount of money.  It came from an elementary school that was having mandatory equipment replacement and was used at most 4 times a year.  It was a 3 phase 240 which is an cheap style to rewire as the elements don't need to be replaced, but lo and behold when I got home it turned out that it had already been rewired at point in time.  Score one for the home team.  The pieces I do with multiple layers of slip don't take to raw glazing so this will be a useful tool for me.  I don't know why I haven't taken a picture of it yet, but here it is tarped up in my truck. 

My kickstarter is over in 6 days.  I am currently $480 short of my stretch goal which will help with a number of additional expenses for the kiln.  If you are interested in contributing you can click here.  I still have plenty of brushes available for your contribution or would be happy to make some pots for you! 

Cheers!

Brandon

 

Kickstarter Update

My kickstarter project has reached 93% of the funding goal in 72 hours! That is just amazing! I am blown away by the generosity and support, thank you so much. There are still 26 days left so plenty of time to contribute if you are interested.  If there is anyone out there interested in contributing but not interested in the pots I have a plethora of deer tail brushes available.  The brushes won't show up on the kickstarter page but you can specify by sending me a message via kickstarter.  The best part ist that the brushes are available immediately.  You can contribute to the existing rewards:
$15 for one brush
$35 for two brushes
$50 for three brushes

You can view the project here.

Cheers y'all!

Kickstart my kiln.

Hello to all my loyal blog readers.  If you've been keeping tabs then you know that I'm in the process of tearing down my wood kiln and replacing it with a new kiln.  2013 was not a stellar year for the pottery business so I've decided to try an alternative method of funding for the kiln.  My initial plan was to try a "buy a brick" program that a few other potters have used with success, but not having the web skills to set that up left me seeking other options.  I have chosen to go with Kickstarter, they have a proven track record as well as a great format that's easy to use for computer illiterate folks like myself.  If you're not familiar with kickstarter, the basic idea is that you contribute and in return for your contribution you receive a "reward".  In this case you receive a certain piece or pieces of pottery depending on your contribution.  The kickstarter format is all or nothing.  So if the funding goal is not reached then the project is considered unsuccessful and the backers aren't charged. So that's it in a nutshell. There is a short video and a lot information about the project on the site so I won't go into it here, the video is also at the end of this post.  My project can be seen by clicking here.

To make it an incentive the pieces you receive for your contribution are below retail and shipping costs.  The pieces will be shipped out after the kiln is up and running, but if you're local or catching me at a show, you are more than welcome to come by the shop and pick out your pot(s). I also will be more than happy to send pictures of pieces for you to choose from.

As an added long-term bonus I intend to write an article about my burners with full disclosure about their construction and operation.  Open-source kiln firing, if you will. 

Well, that's all I have for now.  If you have any question/concerns about kickstarter, my project, the rewards, the universe, etc. I will be more than happy to answer them.

Cheers y'all!

Steady slabbin'

I poured a slab yesterday for the new kiln.  It's an 8x10 slab, enough room for the kiln and the apparatus for the oil burners.  I've positioned the new slab right outside the studio to make loading and tending the kiln easier.  It'll have a roof over it sooner or later.  This coming week is our spring break and I'm hoping to make some headway getting the wood kiln down and maybe getting this one started. I busted up a wheelbarrow full of pots from the shard pile and used it as fill underneath the slab, an offering to the kiln gods if you will.  I did this with the last kiln and that kiln produced great pots.  Maybe it's just an empty gesture but why tempt fate?

 

 

One of these days I'll actually get to make some pots.

Cheers y'all!